Naked in Dangerous Places

March 15, 2009
NPR commentator and BBC TV critic Peters casts about the globe in search of hidden lands and gets a whole lot more than he bargained for.

With his career in broadcasting idling away, Peters was desperate for a break. Though it wasn't exactly what he had in mind, he reluctantly accepted the offer of a reality-TV hosting gig. Thus began his yearlong, whirlwind globetrotting tour of disaster. The theme? Throw the Westerner into far-flung locations,à la Survivor, and let him fend for himself amid the natives. From Cambodia to Dubai to Morocco, Peters stumbled along, braving third-rate hotel rooms and third-world airlines en route to the next exotic locale. For viewers at home, Peters was the lone traveler, charging into a world of risk-laden adventure. But as he points out, with cameramen, field technicians and field producers,"I can't possibly be alone. Yet, in the name of maintaining the illusion and being entertained, they and we pretend I am." After two seasons on the air, the show was canceled."The main reason for the cancellation wasn't a secret," he writes."It was the viewers. More specifically, there weren't any." Illustrated by one hilarious descent into madness after another, Peters undermines the idea that there are still areas in the world untouched by Western influence. It seems that everything has already been explored. But most TV viewers are just looking for an escape."There's no limit to the extent of human gullibility when it comes to believing what they're told," he writes."And the more far-fetched or ludicrous an idea is, the more people are likely to buy into it."

A tongue-in-cheek exploration of the reality behind reality TV.

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February 15, 2009
Peters ("Gullible's Travels"), a British commentator for NPR and the BBC, chronicles the making of the travel show he hosted for two seasons on a "certain TV network" (never named, but it was the Travel Channel), resulting in a combined travel memoir and history lesson, blended together with wit and surprising honesty. As the title indicates, Peters was sent to various locations around the globe, encountering local perils at each stop. For each site visited, Peters offers a humorous yet factual account of the locale's history and culture. He fully admits he lacks the adventurous spirit usually required of a travel show host, yet by the end of the book, he has managed to conquer his fears and sleep in a hut surrounded by lions. In addition to his many travel anecdotes, Peters also writes about his experiences with the TV network itself. While these plights are equally amusing and relevant, the unexpected changes in story line occasionally interrupt the flow of the book. In spite of this, this is a riotous and engaging read, recommended for travel literature collections in public and academic libraries.Melissa Mallon, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, PA

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